Malaga remain mired in relegation battle after bore draw

Víctor's side played out one of the dullest encounters of the season against minnows Extremadura

frank gavurin | malaga

16 December 201915:58

A third clean sheet on the trot will not have been enough to bring smiles to many Malaga faces, as the Costa del Sol side brought home a point from a dreary encounter against Almendralejo.

The 0-0 scoreline on Sunday was a fair and accurate reflection of a game in which neither side created chances. The match started scrappy, with the addition of Mohamed Benkhemassa unable to add control to Malaga's midfield, and while the hosts did begin to run the show in the first half, their possession was essentially sterile, and the teams went in level at half time.

Víctor recognised the need for more attacking potency, and Benkhemassa was unceremoniously withdrawn at the interval, making way for Renato Santos. The introduction of the Portuguese winger did indeed liven up Malaga's play, and they dominated the first 20 minutes or so of the second half, but still failed to carve out any significant goalscoring opportunities.

At the other end, Extremadura's David González thought he had put his side ahead with 70 minutes on the clock, but he was adjudged to have pushed Cifu when jumping to head home.

With six minutes of regulation time to go, Munir pulled off an excellent save from a bouncing header to secure Malaga a point which moves them up to 16th place, but only two points above the relegation zone.

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